Indicator



JulyzJz'l, 1931. J. B, MMS 1,815,722

NDICATOR Filed Jan. 25, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet. l

I 1li) .11 .Il

` Il", iw W 1 1 im` s@ A 1 a; lo @g w anne/MO@ J. B. MILLS July 21, 1931.

INDICATOR Filed Jan. 2:5, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented July 21, 1931 LTENT CEFFlCE.

JonN n. Mints, 'or nnlvrON, OHIO, AssrGNon fro 'fn-inne nenn nners'rna COMPANY,

or DAYTON, oniro INDICATOR Application filed January. 23, 1924. 4Serial No. 685,043.

, 'indicatien of the item which is registered.

@ne object of the invention is to provide means associated with a registeringdevice7 adapted to. register a selected one et a Iplurality ot items, which Will indicate the vit-em l@ registered at the :time that the registration is made. f

1 A farther lobject of the invention is to provide means associated with the item lselecting means in the registering device for selecting the corresponding item in the indicator.

A lfurther object of the invention is -to provide means associated with the item selecting Vmeans lin the registering dev-ice which ivill efface the indication upon -t-he indicator upon a snhseqnen't movement of Vsaid item selecting means. A further object .of the'inventio'n is to provide,.in connection YWith a registeringl device,

an illuminated indicator which Will -lae so.

controlled by the registering operation that it will cause to be exhibited the particular designation oi the indicator which corresponds to that l{li-)signation von the registering device which has been movedto registering position.

A further `object of the invention is to prov-idef'electrical means for controlling an indicator,\vl1icl1\vill comprise a series-oi' contacts, one 'of which will he vselectec'l'by the item selecting means, and lwill be connected with a source :oli Velectrical energtT by the operation ot tak-ing a record ffronrsaid registering device, this'connectionbeing broken leyany subsequent movement of lthe item selecting means.

A further Vobject of the invention is 'to proif'idel an indicator controlling device comprising in part adevice actuated by the movement ot a yieldable detent, -theprilnary pin-- pose of which kis toyieldingly vhold a Wheel in certain positions.

Other objects Othe invention will appear as the mechanism is descr-ibedin detail.

'In the dra-Wings l `is Aa Jiront elevation of a port-ion lof an automobile `service recorder showing my invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a left end elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. l looking in the direction indicated, and slioiving one form of indicator and a Wiring diagram; Fig. l isaperspec-tive view of a switch operating device; Fig. is a transverse section through the individual contactselecting device. I

rEhe invention may take various forms and may he associated with registering devices et various kinds7 either visual or recording. For the purpose of nlustration, het with Yno intention ot limiting my invention to its applicationthereto,tlie invention ivilll be herein described as applied to an automobile service recorder or the type C clcscd in Patent No. l,360,567, November p0, 1920,-, to @limer and Olimer. The patent referred to describes an instrument lthe object of which is lto furnish the owner of vehicles, such as motor trucks and passenger 'busses with a printed record of various items necessary ltor lrccpingr a proper account et the pctormances of the vehicle and the expenses incident ther-etc. The record supplied hv this -'instrumen-t comprises the mileage ,nevelii-.le has run at Ythe time the record is made, the date, the time the record was taken, identitication et 'the person takin# e receid and various in.' 1cellaneons data i ri is ade l to he s ct up by t person taliiilg Ithe record. For .eiiainpid when the gas tan-lr` is filled it is importantto know at what time this done and the quant, s ivh`ci njas cured. Accerdinglw t c tain mainlally operable canins to indicate the Word Gas, and the number of gallons ot gris which were pnt in tank. Likewise it will be obvious that when the device is mountefz'l on a nassenger vehicie it may vhe user to regis Y ler of passeng board and` when so nscd theindic `t he sc arranged that it wordt he i'. t passengers or to an inspectoi,`as is customary in passenger registering devices. @ther items of information are similarly recorded. As described in the :patent to @limer et al.. above referred to this service recorder comprises series of type Wheels2 three of which are shown at 10, 11 and 12, as loosely mounted on a shaft 13 which is supported in frame plates 14 and 15. The various type wheels may be actuated in any suitable manner to effect the registration of the several items, but the three type wheels here shown are manually operated, and to this end setting drums 16, 17 and 18 are mounted exterior-ly of the recorder and are connected respectively, preferably by means of telescopic shafts, with gears 19, 20, and 21 which mesh with gears rigid with the type wheels. For the purpose of retaini the ty 7e wheels in correct positions, detents 22, 23 and 24 loosely mounted on a rod 25 are provided, these dctents being held in engagement iv ith the teeth of the corresponding actuating gears by means of springs fastened to rod 260. The printing mechanism is mounted between end plates, one of which is shown at 27,"pivoted to a rod 28. All the functions inf-ident to printing are carried out on a single rotation of a printing handle 29 which is rigid with a shaft 30 carrying cam 100 which operates the platen 101. For the purpose of inning the type wheels previous to printing, an

inling roller 31 is mounted in arms, one of which is shown at 32, pivoted to the frame plate 14 and having an kextension 33 which is engaged by a pin 34 in an arm 35 mounted on a cam plate 36 rigid with the printer shaft.

rfhe other operations incident to printing,l

such as the movement of the platen, will not be described since they have no bearing on 'is the present invention. The machine as thus far described is identical to that shown in the patent to Ohmer et al. above referred to.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide means for selecting an indication which shall correspond to the item which is registered, and which, in the case of the recorder, is to be printed. Various mechanisins may be used for this purpose. The one which I have selected for the purpose of illustration comprises gears 37 and 38 in mesh with the gears 21 and 20 which actuate the type wheels. Gears 20 and 21 are manually operated by means of the setting drums 17 and 16 respectively but it will be understood that a similar gear could be operated from the actuating gears for any registering or type wheel in the machine. Gears 37 and 38 are loosely mounted on the stud shaft 39 supported in the frame plate 15. In the present embodiment of my invention the indicator is electrically illuminated and the selecting de vice comprises a circuit breaker and closer which is controlled by the registering operation to secure the illumination of that designation of the indicator which corresponds to the item registered. As here shown, a rod 40 of insulating material is supported in the frame plates 14 and 15, and upon this rod is ametallic sleeve 41 which carries near one end thereof a disk 42 of insulating material.

The disk 42 carries two series of contacts 43 and 44, here shown as pins extending through 'arate circuit through a corresponding designation of the indicator which may be located in any convenient position. In the present embodiment of my invention, the contacts 43 are for the tens order of a number and centacts 44 are for the units order of a number, it being understood that the indicator may contain other data than numbers. For the purpose of selecting a contact 44 corresponding to the items which has been registered on type wheel 12, the gear 37, which it will be remembered is rotated from the gear 21 which actuates the type wheel l2, meshes with a gear 45 which is fixed to one end of a sleeve 46 of insulating material, (Fig. 5) which sleeve encircles the rod 40. At the opposite end of sleeve 46 is a metallic collar 47 carrying a spring arm 48 adapted to malte contact with any of the contacts 44. Similarly, gear 38 meshes with a gear 49 attached to a sleeve of insulating material 50 which encircles the sleeve 46. At the opposite end of the sleeve 50 is a metallic collar 51 which carries a contact arm 52'adapted to engage any of the contacts 43. It will be seen that sleeve 41, collars 47 and 51 and arms 48 and 52 are all in electrical contact with each other but are insulated from all other parts of the machine. Current is supplied to the contact arms through the sleeve 41 by means of a spring switch 53, which may be connected with any suitable source of electrical energy and which ismounted on a block of insnlati ng material 54 supported from the frame plate 14. Switch 53 is spring pressed toward the sleeve 41, with which it is adapted to malte contact, but it is not desirable that the circuit should be closed While the type wheels and the corresponding contact arm are being moved from one position to another. ilccordingly, the spring switch 53 is held out of contact with the sleeve 41 until the printer shaft is rotated to cause a record to be taken from the type wheels. To accomplish this the blade of the switch 53 is provided with an extension 55, preferably in the form of a strip of insulating material, and a. pin 56 extends through an openingl in the frame plate 14 and engages the upper side ot this strip of insulating material, thus holding the switch 53 open until the said pin is withdrawn by means of a spring arm 57 (sce Fig. 1) mounted on the frame plate 14 and engaging a groove in pin 56. The spring arm 57 crosses the arm 32 which supports the inking roll, and has a projection 570 on its inner side which is engaged by the arm 32, when said arm is oscillated in the operation of inl:-

all

atraves ing vthe rtype, thus camini-ng the spring arm to the lett as viewed in Fig. l and 'withdrawing the pin G :trom the path ofthe'ex'tension '55. The switch 353, t'hus released, moves into engagement with the sleeve, the end of the pin 56 rests against theedge of extension 55, and the indicator is accordingly energized. The switch remains closed until the extension is again depressed. The first subsequent movement of any of the type wheel set-ting devices will move the switch out of engagement with the sleeve and depress the same sutiiciently to enable the pin 56 to move into position above the extension 55. An arm 58 adapted to en gage the extension 55 is rigidly attach-ed to one end of a sleeve 59 which encircles th-e rod 25. An extension at the opposite end of this sleeve overlies the series of detents 22, Q3 and 24 and is so arranged that when any detent is moved outward by the rotation of the gear with which it is in contact, the sleeve will be rotated slightly and the arm 5S will depress the insulating strip 55 suiiiciently to open the switch and permit spring 57 to restore pin 56 to holding position.

The circuits closed by the contact arm and the contacts mounted in the insulating disk may control the operation of the indicator in any desired way. In the present instance, the indicator is controlled by illumination and for the purpose of illustration, I have herein shown a simple form of indicator at 60 in Fig. 3. This indicator comprises two rows of digits corresponding to the two series of contacts, eight in number, the digits being made translucent on a background of opaque material. Each of the circuits from the contacts 43 and 44 in the recorder includes a small lamp back of the proper digit in the indicator. The selected lamps, one in each row of digits, are lighted when the printing mechanism is operated to make the record, and are extinguished by any subsequent setting movement ol' the setting de- I' VlCeS.

Vhile I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details thereof as various modiiica- 'F tions may appear to a person skilled in the l ply including a switch, a spring tending to close said switch, a detent device for retaining said switch open, an operating element, means by which said operating element disables said detent device thereby closing said switch, and means whereby a subsequent movement of said Setting device opens said switch Aand again renders said detent device eective.

2. In combination, a circuit controlling device comprising an insulating rod, a conducting 'sleeve mounted thereon, a disk of insulating material supported on said sleeve, a plurality of contacts carried by rsaid disk, a contact 'arm adapted to separately engage each of said contacts, means whereby said arm is rotated `so as to contact with any of said contacts, an indicator, and means to designate on said vindica-tor the position ot' said farm relative to said contacts.

3. In combination, an indicato-r controlling device vcomprising a rod of insulating material, a conducting sleeve mounted thereon, a disk oi insulating material supported lon 'said sleeve, a plurality ot' series of contacts von said disk, each forming a part oi' vra circuit through said indicator, a .plurality of contact arms in electrical connection with `said sleeve, each adapted to traverse one of said rseries of contacts, means whereby said arms are rotated so as to YContact with any of said contacts, an indicator, and means to designate on said indicator the position ot' Vsaid larms relative to Asaid contacts.

4. In combination, an indica-tor controlling device comprising a rod of insulating material, a conducting sleeve mounted thereon, a disk of insulatingl 4material ysupported yon said sleeve, a plurality of series of contacts on said disk, each forming a part -oi -a circuit through said indicator, a plurality of contact arms in electrical connection with said sleeve, each adapted 'to traverse one oit said series of contacts, a plurality of sleeves of insulating material telescopi'cally arranged -and supporting respectively said plurality of contact arms, means whereby said arms are rotated so that each arm may contact with any one of the contacts of its series, an indicator, and means to designate 'on said indicator the positions of said arms relative to said contacts.

5. In combination, an indicator controllingv device comprising ya rod of insulating material, a conducting sleeve mounted thereon, a disk 'of insulating material supported ou said sleeve,'a plurality of series-of contacts on said disk, each forming a part of a circuit through said indicator, a plurality Vof 'contact arms in electrical connection with said sleeve, each adapted to traverse one of said series of contacts, a plurality of sleeves of insulating material telescopically arranged and supporting respectively vsaid plurality of :con-tact arms, a plurality of `gears associated respectively with said sleeves, anda plurality of settable devices associated respectively with said gears. f

'6. In combination, an indicator controlling device 'comprising a rod of insulating material, a conducting sleeve mounted there n, a

disk of insulating material supported on said sleeve, a plurality of series of contacts on said disk, each forming a part of a circuit through said indicator, a plurality of contact arms in electrical connection with said sleeve, each adapted to traverse one ot said series of contacts, a plurality of sleeves of insulating material telescopically arranged and supporting respectively said plurality of contact arms, a plurality of gears associated respectively with said sleeves, a plurality of manually operable setting devices adapted to rotate said gears.

7. In a machine of the type described, a disk of insulating material bearing a plurality of series of contacts, a plurality of contact arms adapted to engage respectively said series of contacts, an insulated conducting element in electrical connection with said contact arms, and a driving gear rigid with but insulated from each of said contact arms.

8. In a machine of the character described, an item wheel, operating means therefor, a yieldable detent device associated therewith, a. contact arm adapted to be rotated concomitantly with said item wheel, a conducting element in electrical contact with said contact arm, a current carrying switch adapted to make contact with said conducting element, means for retaining said switch out of contact with said conducting element, an operating mechanism, means associated with saidoperating mechanism for disabling said retaining means, and means operated by movement of said detent for again enabling said retaining means.

9. In combination, a member adapted to be set to any one of al plurality of positions, a detent device adapted to yieldably retain said member in its set positionsand to be oscillated as said member moves from oneposition to another, a Contact device associated with said type carrying member, leans effective to connect said contact device with a source of electrical energy, and means eifective on oscillation of said detent device to break said con- I nection.

10. In combination, a plurality of detent devices, a rod supporting said detent devices, a switch controlling device compri sing a sleeve encircling said rod, a switch operating arm rigid with said sleeve, and an extension on said sleeve in the path of movement of all o't said detents, whereby displacement of any one of said detents will rock said switch operating arm.

Il. In combination, an element, adapted to occupy a plurality of positions, a detent adapted to yieldingly retain said element in position and to be oscillated by its movement from one position to another, and a switch operating device controlled by said detent.

12. 'In combination, an element adapted to occupy a plurality of significant positions,

u a detent device adapted to yieldingly retain said element in position and to be oscillated hereto.

JOHN B. MILLS. 

